I am very happy for you. My third son is going through it this year (my 3rd time through it) although he was not super excited about it (or any curriculum for that matter). With each new 9th grader I reevaluate if I want to start with MFW AHL again and I always come to the same decision that it is a good balance of writing, history, and reading. I feel there are many places I can add more if I need or with a slow reader I can keep it basic. My ds listens to the Bible online for the readings to The Old Testament Challenge. I also get the audio cds from our library for the Iliad and Odyssey but I add in the teachings on these from The Great Courses.

I don't really have a problem with the superintendent pushing this to someone else except for the fact that I could go in and talk with him. We live in a very small district and they really were not very involved. I am concerned with having to deal with an overly picky person whose office is over an hour away from me. I am also wondering how this will affect my current senior. My IHIPS and Quarterly reports are not to the standard they show. My IHIPS just had a list of curriculum used or written plan where they also want to know what is specifically covered in it each text. My quarterly reports were mostly just grades with a statement referring to hours done and percentage of IHIP covered. Their sample shows a written description of what was covered that quarter along with a grade. Could the ask me to go back and redo all that? My current senior has shown zero interest in college (or anything after highschool), but I am determined that he will at least have the correct paperwork to go when he is ready.

I have been homeschooling in NYS for over 14 years and have never had a reporting problem. I just received notification that our school district is handing over all the homeschool paperwork to the regional BOCES. My question is that if the NYS reg. specifically say to report to the superintendent, the how can they just push that off on a whole separate agency? (Or are they not that separate?) I know there are others on this board who report to BOCES and am wondering how it is going. I read the manual they included and so far my only complaint is that they are asking for hours per subject in high school instead of cumulative hours which I am not sure is in the regs. Any thoughts? Michelle

My youngest is using MM7 this year. He did CLE for 5th and 6th and wanted something different. I like it for this year, but I don't think I would have liked it long term. He does follow the lesson plan made for Homeschool Planet which adds some online game opportunities to each day. I know the games are all linked in the pdfs, but I don't think we would have checked them out much if not for the schedule.

I'm very sorry.

I'm not sure what age range you are at, but I wish I could get Cover Story from clear Water Press for my reluctant writing 7th grader. It looks like it would really speak to my reluctant writer. Unfortunately it is not in the budget.

Very scary. Praying for answers, healing and heart peace.

I have the older Homeschool Tracker Plus (not online) If you link the online plan, I should be able to open it and print it to a pdf which can be sent to you. I did something similar to this when I wanted a lesson plan that went to a different homeschool scheduling program. I don't know if my program can open plans written for Homeschool Traker Online, but I can try. PM me if you want to. I am a member of the HST yahoo groups if that is where it is.

I watch Great Courses videos. I am not comfortable teaching literature, so I listen in and read along with Circe Close Reads podcasts. My goal is that my sons would enjoy reading and not look at it like a a series of fill in the blanks worksheets. I also try to keep reading on my own. I don't necessarily read what they do. For subjects, like logic, that I am not comfortable in, I will read ahead weekly and do the work with my ds.

I just finished up Discovering Design with Chemistry with my 2nd ds. My oldest ds used Spectrum chemistry. Overall I really liked it. It is very homeschool mom teachable. Wile assigns point values for grading tests and there are optional semester finals. Also, when my ds did poorly on one test, he sent me a file of optional, multiple choice tests for those who don't need/want the harder version. I only used these for retaking tests if needed. I paid $65 for the set of the book and teacher's book (which includes the tests to copy) I wouldn't buy the audio unless I really thought my student would use it. I also printed out all the comprehension check questions so that it would be easier for ds to study. Wile also supplies access to internet resources which explain additional concepts and show different chemical reactions. Compared to Spectrum, the labs are more simplistic but seemed effective. I knew 2nd ds would not be that into the labs, and I couldn't justify buying all the supplies again that Spectrum requires. Most of the lab supplies for this course are easy to obtain. I went to Home Science Tools and only bought only those items that were needed. The biggest negative really was a student problem and not a curriculum one. I discovered late in the year that ds wasn't actually doing all the comprehension checks and it reflected greatly on his test scores. The curriculum will prepare you well IF you do the work. I also really like Wile's voice throughout the book. It reads as high school teacher talking straight to you as a young adult. I just remembered one other big negative that I would hope has been corrected. There was a ton of errata for both the book and the instructor's manual. I would ask if they are selling corrected versions yet.

I did the same thing last year. I decided to buy after the sale, so I waited till September and it went on sale again.

I would just call/email them and ask.

I received the tall ones from JcPenney and they fit very well and stay up (I'm 5'11"). They are really comfortable, but I need to find longer tops, as I feel quite naked with a shirt that just covers my backside.

Our previous fridge was this and I loved it. It was going on 10 yo when it died because of a brownout. I now have a bottom refrigerator (LG), and even though I like it, I hate bending over to get into it.

I ordered two pairs of leggings from JcPenney in tall. The reviews were mixed but the price was right. I have many tunic length shirts that I usually wear over skinny jeans. I hope this will be more comfortable for the summer.

Are TALL leggings available anywhere? I don't live near any major shopping areas but would love to have some leggings to wear with long shirts / tunics. I am tall but have varicose legs and am getting to the point where I will not go out with them bare anymore.

We found ticks on our dog all the time till we got her a Serresto collar. They last for 8 months.

Thanks. Youngest DS wants something different than CLE for 7th grade, and I would like a one year pre-algebra, so I plan on getting MM7 for next year. I haven't been able to find many reviews on it.

I've always found Geometry to be a hard independant subject because of those dang proofs. I like right or wrong answers and my oldest would find the strangest ways to write proofs, which I really had no idea if they were correct. I think the rest of the topics would be doable. I've used Life of Fred Geometry with my oldest and the Chakerian/ MWB with my second DS.

I did Rightstart through 4th grade with all 4 of my sons. In fact it is one of the only programs I didn't change through the years. My oldest did Singapore math for 5th and 6th which is great, but he needed more review than it offered and I needed something more open and go with my younger boys. The next three switched to Christian Light Education (CLE) for 5th and 6th grade. One did AOPS after CLE 6 (which didn't really work for him). My current 8th grader is just starting the last Lightunit of CLE 8. Not everyone chooses to do two years of pre-algebra / consumer math, but this has been a great fit for this guy to use and mature with. My 6th grader is also on his last Lightunit of CLE 6 and I'm not sure where we will go next with him, but I know he is well prepared. I like switching to CLE later because Rightstart is just fun and conceptual. It is not about drilling so much as learning to think mathematically. I think if I had started with CLE, they would have despised math by time they were older. By 5th grade my children seemed generally ready for more work. Although the teaching is geared directly to the student, CLE's teacher's manuals are helpful in that they show the complete solutions and have additional problems for harder concepts. Also, the lessons have a bit of review everyday which I find we need. We also added Singapore Challenging Word Problems (1 or 2 per day) just for that mental extra. You can always start a year behind to help or have them as something the kids can do with dad if you are not comfortable with the math.

I have always had a bottom freezer because I'm tall and hate bending way over to get into it. But our last one (9 year old Amana) was killed in a recent brownout so we needed a new fridge quickly. I picked this one http://www.lg.com/us/refrigerators/lg-LTCS24223D-top-freezer-refrigerator . I wanted white to match our other appliances but they didn't have any white in stock that I liked. This is a real nice looking fridge (it really is a dark coppery color)with just an ice maker. Unfortunately I cannot tell you how well it makes ice as we did not hook it up. We got it from Lowes about two weeks ago. Overall I am very happy with this fridge although I still hate bending over to get into it. I also like that they now have LED lighting.

I don't know if you are interested in memory foam, but we bought a Loom and Leaf a little less than a year ago and are happy with it. We got the firm and I hardly ever remember waking with a sore morning back anymore. (I had back surgery a year and a half ago) If it was just me, I would have gotten the less firm one, but this one is fine with a mattress pad. If I remember correctly, they do have a great return policy.

I use Singapore Challenging Word Problems. I only use CLE 5th grade up but use CWP from 2nd grade up along with RightStart till 4th. I don't think CWP are absolutely needed. but I own them and I do like them. My youngest is using the tattered book 6 and may end up being the only one to finish that book - my older three gave up part way through it.

We are doing Book 3 this year. I have my 6th, 8th, and 11th grader all do them together. They seem to like it. At first, my youngest two did the Nose Tree two years ago and then I decided last year to include my older student. My 6th grader is also doing Rod and Staff Grade 6 (he hates it). My boys have become very good at recognizing independent and dependent clauses and all the other "fixes". It has been a good addition for us, and we intend to do Book 4 next year. At the beginning of the year, each student gets a new colored composition book where they write the story and I check it. I also have them write the vocabulary starting about 3/4 of the way toward the back of the book. I print the student pages all out at the beginning of the year, but I only give them to them weekly so they don't read ahead.

I got the self-paced history on sale back in September. My 6th grader is doing the 1815 to Present course and has never done any of the previous ones. I like it that it is independent and that he likes it. Also the program is set up so that he cannot skip over things or fast-forward through videos (which he has been know to do). I do miss knowing what he is learning and doing it with him, but it has been a good fit for this year. I don't believe you need to know anything from the previous years. ~M